Amor slipped away from the servant group, his small backpack bouncing as he booked it towards the treeline. The forest ahead wasn't just any woods – it was legit jungle territory, teeming with wild beasts. Didn't faze him one bit.
"Whoa... this is totally amazing!" Amor breathed, completely awestruck by the massive trees. They were like towering giants, making him feel tiny. Heart buzzing with excitement, he practically skipped into the dense greenery. Zero fear about the dangers lurking in the shadows. Not a single clue.
He walked, and walked, and walked some more. All he saw was endless jungle canopy and tiny critters zipping through the air. After a while, the initial awe started to wear thin.
"Ugh, are there even enough trees?" he mumbled, feeling the drag. The kid was straight-up exhausted – he was just a scrawny twelve-year-old, after all. His jerk family hadn't prepped him for squat about the outside world, let alone how tiring it could be.
Dead tired, Amor finally flopped down under a shady tree. The trees here weren't packed so tight, giving him a killer view of the late afternoon sky blazing golden-yellow.
"Whoa... that sky is next-level beautiful," he sighed, leaning back against the rough bark.
"Gonna crash here for a bit. Walking all the way from the main road? Totally wiped me out." His eyes drifted shut, the immense beauty around him his only lullaby, blissfully unaware of the predators' eyes possibly watching from the deepening shadows.
—
"AWOOOOOOOO!"
The bone-chilling howl of a wolf ripped through the night, jolting Amor awake from his nap. Instant goosebumps prickled his skin. Freaked. Out.
"Augh... What was that?" he whispered, his voice shaky. "Sounded mega creepy." Total darkness pressed in on him. Only the weak moonlight offered a glimpse, and even that vanished seconds later as thick clouds smothered the sky.
"Nanny..." he whimpered, hugging his backpack like a lifeline, his fear of the dark kicking in hard. "...I'm scared." He squeezed his eyes shut tight, hoping blocking out the terrifying blackness would somehow make the fear chill out. Without meaning to, the exhaustion and adrenaline crash pulled him back under, his small body giving in to sleep.
Unseen in the deep shadows, while Amor slept defenselessly, a boy about his own age materialized from the trees. Silently, he crouched beside the sleeping Omega. His nostrils flared slightly as he leaned in, taking a deliberate, quiet sniff – checking Amor's designation, ingrained instinct in their world. A low murmur, barely audible, escaped him: "Omega scent..." There was a pause, a moment of consideration in the oppressive dark. Then, moving with practiced quietness, the boy pulled a small flashlight and a wrapped piece of bread from his own pack. He placed them carefully on the ground beside Amor's curled form. No words, no touch. Just that simple, cryptic offering. As silently as he appeared, the boy melted back into the inky forest, leaving Amor alone once more with the unseen dangers and the lingering scent of rain and earth that clung to the stranger. The flashlight and bread sat like silent promises, or maybe warnings, beside the sleeping boy, completely unaware of the brief, watchful presence or the predators' eyes still gleaming from the deeper woods.
—
Morning light filtered through the trees, waking Amor with a gnawing emptiness in his stomach. Starving. He scrambled for his backpack, rummaging frantically for the last scraps of food. Nothing. Zip. Nada. His stomach let out a loud, embarrassing growl. Defeated, he slumped back onto the forest floor, hugging his aching belly. "Ugh... no food," he mumbled, feeling tears prick his eyes. This freedom thing was getting rough.
As he flopped down harder than he meant to, his head bumped against something soft tucked near the roots. "Huh? What's this?" He blinked, picking up a neatly wrapped bundle. He brought it to his nose – the smell was amazing, like fresh-baked bread. Hope surged. Tearing it open, he took a huge bite. "Oh my gosh... this is sooo good!" he moaned, scarfing it down. Tears streamed down his face now – tears of relief mixed with hunger. "Thank you... whoever you are," he whispered into the quiet forest, realizing someone must have left it.
Then he spotted it: the flashlight, right where the food had been. He fumbled with the switch. Click. A bright beam cut through the dim morning undergrowth. "Whoa! Magic!" he breathed, momentarily forgetting his hunger. This forest was full of surprises.
Feeling a tiny bit better but knowing the snack wouldn't last long, Amor shoved the flashlight in his pocket. His water bottle was getting dangerously light too. Time to move. He needed help, shelter, real food – fast. Hoisting his small backpack, he picked a direction and started walking again, the beam from his mysterious gift lighting the path ahead, his stomach already growling again at the thought of what – or who – he might find next.
Amor trudged on. Man, this day was dragging. Two solid hours of walking through endless green, with nothing but trees and his own tired thoughts for company. Total snoozefest. To fight the boredom, he started humming a tune his old nanny used to sing, his voice soft and a little off-key in the vast quiet. "La la la... La la la... Laaa..."
His face was a whole mood – exhaustion etched into his features, sadness lingering in his eyes, hunger and thirst making his lips feel dry, yet underneath it all, a flicker of excitement about the unknown. Freedom was exhausting, apparently.
After two hours, his legs just gave out. He slumped into a crouch, wrapping his arms tightly around his knees like a hug. "Come on, Amor," he whispered shakily to himself, trying to pep-talk through the fatigue and loneliness. "You got this. You're out. No more pain. Just... gotta keep going..."
THWACK!
A sudden, sharp sting exploded across the back of his head. "OWWWW!" Amor yelped, clutching his skull. "What the heck?!"
He whipped around, blinking through the tears of surprise and pain. Standing there, silhouetted against the dappled forest light, was a boy. Looked about his own age. Lean, watchful, with eyes that seemed to miss nothing. The air crackled with sudden, unspoken tension.